


Walls

by KatrinaRice



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:28:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29049195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatrinaRice/pseuds/KatrinaRice
Summary: Erwin's happy with Levi. But there'sonething that's making his life miserable.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Comments: 16
Kudos: 264





	Walls

**Author's Note:**

> This short fic was inspired by [this tweet](https://twitter.com/ru133088475/status/1354437588916924422?s=20) \- you'll find the artwork in the thread.

“You look so happy!”

That’s what Erwin would hear whenever introducing his new boyfriend to his family, friends as well as acquaintances. And he would smile and confirm it then. For it  _ was _ the truth. Erwin really  _ was _ happy with Levi. 

But...

There definitely was a ‘but’. A ‘but’ he could not easily disclose to anybody.

It wasn’t infidelity. It wasn’t the lack of attention many people complained about in relationships either. Levi was neither distant, nor clingy. He was interested in anything Erwin did, but left Erwin the freedom any individual would deem healthy. He was there whenever Erwin needed him, and gave him space whenever necessary too.

Or...  _ almost _ .

For in bed, Levi was…

This wasn’t about sex. Heck, the sex was  _ great _ . The best Erwin’s ever had, actually. Levi was great underneath him, an enthusiastic bottom. He was great on top too. Levi was a good receiver, and he was amazing at giving too, yes. But… But  _ that _ part only applied to giving  _ pleasure _ in bed. Giving Erwin a good fuck, giving him a kiss, giving him a marvelous blowjob.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the  _ whole _ truth. For Levi was also good in giving Erwin a sip of water in bed, or handing Erwin his reading glasses when the blond wanted to dive into one of his beloved books before sleeping.

And actually  _ that _ was the core of their—or rather of  _ Erwin’s _ —problem: sleeping. Or to be more precise: of  _ not _ sleeping  _ enough _ .

“You look tired as fuck,” Hange greeted him as he entered the flat the crazy aspiring veterinarian shared with their partner Moblit. Hange grinned. “I  _ did _ warn you about Levi’s sleeping habits,” they remarked repeatedly after closing the door and Erwin sighed.

For that—Levi’s sleeping “habits”—were the big ‘ _ but’  _ in their relationship of only three months, the exact  _ cause  _ of Erwin not getting enough rest.

Levi had warned Erwin too. But the blond would have never expected…  _ this _ .

“I toss and turn during the night. A lot,” Levi had explained to him, after Erwin had complained about the shorter man never spending the night at his place, and never inviting the blond for a sleep-over during the first month of dating either. “That’s why I didn’t want to spend the night…”

They found a compromise after that conversation. A rule.

“Let’s just not drift off to sleep while cuddling,” Levi had requested, “right before  _ falling _ asleep, you need to move to your side of the bed, as far away from me as possible. Because I don’t want to wake you up by me twisting and turning around, because… Uh… You _ need _ your sleep, okay?”

Erwin had agreed.

But Levi obviously had no full idea, didn’t know the full  _ extent _ of his “tossing and turning” at night. For Erwin moving to the other side of their beds didn’t solve… anything. Levi was not only a tosser and turner at night, he was also _ a traveller _ . Which meant: No matter how far away from him Erwin would be sleeping, Levi always found his way to the blond. 

Sometimes, Erwin would wake up due to his nose being painfully plastered against something hard and solid, with Levi’s back pressed against Erwin’s, having pushed him to the edge of the bed—and thus, then, _pressing him against_ _the wall_ —while mumbling gibberish in his dreams. At other times, Erwin would wake up with imprints of that wall spread all over one side of his face, with Levi having pressed him against it from a different angle. And very often, Erwin would _startle_ awake because Levi shifted closer and actually pushed Erwin’s whole body flat against the wall, with his feet pressed against the bigger man’s broad back— _cold_ feet. Artic. So Erwin would have cold feet from the back, and the cold wall from the front.

That’s what actually made Erwin move his bed away from the wall. But after that, he couldn’t decide what was worse: Being pressed against that bloody wall—or now, without that wall, being kicked  _ out of the bed _ with Levi attacking him like that in his unconscious state. With his back, with his feet, sometimes even with his whole body.

“So what was it this time?” Hange, who had shared a room with Levi a few years ago asked.

Erwin let out a sigh, wondering whether this latest incident was actually the worst of them all.

“I don’t know  _ how _ he did it,” he began taking the coffee Hange offered him, “but Levi actually turned around completely in bed and shoved  _ his foot  _ into  _ my face _ . His  _ cold _ foot. His  _ very _ cold, and—unfortunately—not so great smelling foot. But I should probably not tell him  _ that _ …”

Hange burst out with laughter and Erwin took a sip of his coffee, grimacing.

“Oh Jesus, this is hilarious…! I need to tell Moblit about Levi’s stinky foot job,” Hange cackled and Erwin rolled his eyes.

And when they were done with what Erwin had come here for—researching and ordering Mike’s birthday present and organising his surprise party—Erwin finally confided something.

“I can’t go on like that. I mean… I really don’t get enough sleep.”

“Then don’t share a bed.”

“But we’re a couple!”

“So what? Just because you’re a couple you think you are  _ obliged _ to share a bed?” Hange remarked with a raised brow.

“No… I mean.. Yes. I mean… I  _ want _ to share a bed with Levi.”

“Well, then you just gotta live with being pressed against the wall and having Levi kick you in the face with his lovely feet, my man...”

Another deep sigh escaped Erwin’s throat. “But I can’t take in anymore…”

“Ever thought of tying him up during the night?”

“I’m not interested in  _ anything _ related to BDSM.”

Hange cackled again, gazing at Erwin in a rather… cheeky fashion. “Levi said otherwise…”

“That son of a-”

Hange’s cackling got even louder, and Erwin felt heat spread across his cheeks, thinking about how he, indeed, liked to be held down by and tied up by Levi and get his ass smacked by his boyfriend. But for one, he would never enjoy tying _Levi_ up. And for two, tying someone up _during their sleep_ was not only a turnoff for Erwin, it was also _anything_ _but safe_. It was simply _insane_.

“You’re not really helping,” he remarked and Hange shrugged.

“I wish I  _ could _ help. But I can’t. Maybe go see a sleep specialist or something?”

“Yeah, right. As if Levi would accept help like that…”

Levi hated doctors, therapists. Any kind of specialist offering professional help, really.

“He might change his mind, if you actually  _ tell him _ just  _ how much  _ you’re suffering because of his nightly actions, Erwin…”

Erwin knew that he couldn’t hide his exhaustion for much longer. That the circles under his eyes were growing bigger and darker and that Levi wasn’t going to buy his excuses of having had nightmares as such any longer: excuses. Lies. Erwin was pretty sure Levi already had an idea of what was going on, and wouldn't buy it when Erwin told him the raven-haired hadn’t tossed around in bed “that much” for much longer. 

But he really didn’t want to upset Levi. And he didn’t want to sleep alone either. But he  _ also _ didn’t want to be in this unpleasant situation anymore.

“This is making me go crazy,” Erwin muttered, as Hange patted his back.

When he came home that night, Levi was making dinner. Erwin’s favourite. Spaghetti with meatballs and lots of cheese. They ate together and talked about their day. They enjoyed a glass of wine while catching up on the TV show they both loved watching, analysing the latest episode while preparing for bed. 

And Erwin just couldn’t bring himself to talk to Levi. 

He didn’t want to spoil the mood, postponed their talk. And vowed to himself to first try out some stuff on his own to prevent the raven-haired traveller to do just that: travel.

One night, when Levi was already asleep, Erwin built a wall between them consisting of a spare, thick blanket and a couple of big, robust pillows from Levi’s huge couch in the living room.

It didn’t work. 

The barrier was partly torn down, partly overrun—or rather “overturned”—with Levi simply rolling over it, pushing Erwin against the wall of his boyfriend’s bedroom.

A few nights later, when Levi was sleeping over at Erwin’s, the blond nearly fell off the mattress again with Levi’s extended, strong, muscular leg pushing against his back. He then cautiously slipped out of bed, and pushed Levi—who was a very heavy sleeper—carefully onto the side he had been travelling to— _ his _ side—hoping Levi would just stay there, while he took refuge at the other side, initially belonging to Levi.

It didn’t work.

Levi just travelled back, succeeding in startling Erwin awake with his cold feet suddenly pushing between Erwin’s thighs.

Some more nights later, the traveller displayed his tossing abilities, keeping Erwin awake by twisting and turning, grabbing at the sheets and blankets, and finally made Erwin  _ scream _ —for Levi, accidentally and still asleep, kicked him in the balls. At two in the morning.

And that’s when Erwin couldn’t take it anymore.

“Wh-Wh-Why are you s-screaming?” a grumpy, half-conscious Levi asked, rubbing his eyes, blinking, looking bewildered and confused. “Huh? Wh-What is-”

Thinking of Hange’s advice of tying Levi up, Erwin grabbed him, twisted him onto his side, and pulled him against his chest, spooning him; his big, trained arms caging the shorter man’s body, Erwin’s nose pressed into the raven-black hair, carrying the faint scent of shampoo, while he pushed one of his legs between Levi’s, tangling them together. His grip firm, he closed his eyes, the feeling of Levi’s stiff body angering him almost.

“E-Erwin…” Levi protested, as predicted, trying to break out of Erwin’s tight embrace. But the blond didn’t let him.

“Don’t,” he asked. Or maybe it was uttered as a command. Whatever it came out as, Levi listened, his body relaxing, and Erwin almost felt a bit guilty about being pissed off. Because Levi didn’t do all this on purpose and had, from the beginning, always kept Erwin’s best interest at heart. Erwin sighed, breathing a kiss onto Levi’s crown, hugging him tighter for a few seconds to emphasize his warm intention. “It’s okay, let’s just try this…”

“...but I might really hurt you.”

“You already did.”

“...I did?”

“You kicked me in the balls just now.”

Once more, Erwin felt Levi’s body stiffen. “Oh shit, I-”

“It’s okay,” Erwin answered, burying his nose in Levi’s black strands, inhaling his scent. “Just sleep. Please…”

“...what if I hurt you even more now?”

“Then it will be on me. Okay?”

Levi needed a few seconds before replying. Finally, he answered. “Okay. And… I’m really sorry…”

“Don’t worry. Let’s just…  _ sleep _ .”

Erwin closed his eyes. And despite the anger that had filled him up just now, despite the frustration he had experienced, he fell asleep almost immediately, dreaming of pleasant things. Of the ocean, of beautiful dragons, and of a castle filled with mysterious books. 

And when he woke up,  _ he _ was the one who looked bewildered this time.

For the room was filled with faint sunlight filtering through the blinds, which meant it had to be late in the morning. Which meant that Erwin had slept through since two in the morning. Which meant that-

Regaining his full consciousness Erwin registered that he was nearly in the exact position he last remembered: On his side, spooning Levi. His arms still wrapped around the raven-haired’s body. 

He blinked, his sudden joy suddenly overcome by a very dark thought. By the thought that Levi had remained awake the whole night, only to let Erwin sleep, but- But when Erwin held his breath and focussed on his boyfriend, he could—most definitely—make out Levi breathing evenly. And when Levi actually started to snore—and Erwin knew this snore very well—happiness and relief flooded his whole core; and Erwin couldn’t hold back his joyful laughter. 

“...wh-what’s so funny…?” Levi asked, awoken by this outburst, yawning, turning around within Erwin’s embrace. And that’s when he, too, looked bewildered. Blinking. Twisting his head to stare into Erwin’s face, realising where he actually was. Right there, in Erwin’s arms. Where he had fallen asleep. Without turning. Without tossing. Without  _ travelling _ . “Oh shit…?!”

“I think we found a cure,” Erwin remarked and they both started laughing. 

After a few more nights of falling asleep in each other’s arms, their bodies pressed together in some way or another, they were sure. For Levi did not toss, he did not turn, he did not travel and he did not kick or push or roll over Erwin. He slept soundly—and so did Erwin, finally. 

And when people commented on how happy he looked, there were no more ‘buts’ when Erwin confirmed his joy of being with Levi and celebrated the end of his unwanted attachment to walls.

**END**


End file.
